New Note Poetry

There are presently no open calls for submissions.

Thank you for your interest in submitting your work to New Note Poetry. Our submission calendar is as follows:

  • Winter: 
    • ​Subs Open: November
    • Subs Decided: December
    • Issue Released: January


  • Spring: 
    • ​Subs Open: February
    • Subs Decided: March
    • Issue Released: April


  • Summer: 
    • ​Subs Open: May
    • Subs Decided: June
    • Issue Released: July


  • Autumn: 
    • ​Subs Open: August​​
    • Subs Decided: September
    • Issue Released: October

Below are our submission criteria. Please read them carefully. Failure to follow any of these guidelines will result in an instant rejection. We do not and never will charge a fee. 

Submission Guidelines

What We Publish: Poetry only. We believe that poetry is the jazz of the written word. Therefore, we are open to many styles of poetry that are wild, untamed, sometimes shocking, and idiosyncratic, like a firey jazz solo. We look for poets who break the mold and play with language, poetic form, and themes. We love the experimental and avant-garde, but we also appreciate seeing modern deconstructions of classic poetic forms. We are not a musical-themed magazine, so please do not feel you must submit poems with a jazz reference. 

Poetry we're not keen on:

  • Rhymed meter
  • Epic poems
  • Cutesy and romantic
  • Overly religious
  • Political rants
  • Erotica
  • "The Break Up" poem
  • Covid-19/pandemic-related pieces
  • Surface-level observations/confessionals

We're not saying that any of the above are bad, but there are plenty of them out there to read.

What We Don't Publish: Anything that is not poetry, anything AI-generated, and anything that is discriminatory towards any person or group (we don't need to tell you what constitutes). When it comes to AI, we do not care what you use it for in your writing process, but we cannot accept entirely AI-generated work.

What We Can and Can't Do: As much as we would love to, we cannot give feedback on every submission. If accepted for publication, we will send a proof copy of the issue to you for corrections, but we cannot accept new drafts. Our magazine is (unfortunately) not a paying market as of now, but we will heavily promote you and your work if you are accepted for publication. All accepted poems will be considered for our yearly print anthology.

  • Submit 1-5 unpublished poems in a single .doc or .docx file with each poem on a new page. Please only include your 1-5 poems in your document with no cover letter on the first page.
  • "Unpublished" means your work has not been previously published anywhere else, including personal blogs, websites, or social media. We do, however, graciously allow submissions previously published on now-defunct literary websites and/or magazines.
  • Please allow us up to 1 month to review your submission. There is no need to follow up with us about your submission. We will respond promptly.
  • We allow simultaneous submissions. Please notify us if your work is accepted elsewhere. We love to see it.
  • We no longer read cover letters. Only send a brief third-person bio with your submission. MFAs, name drops, and lists of publications are cool and all, but we value poem over the poet. Let your work speak for itself.
  • If you have been previously published in our magazine, please wait six months before submitting again.

By submitting to us, you acknowledge and agree to the following:

  • You are the original author of your work and hold the necessary rights.
  • New Note Poetry receives exclusive First North American Serial Rights (FNASR) and electronic, online, and archival rights. All rights revert back to the author after publication.
  • We reserve the right to republish your work on our website, blog, archive, or promotional materials related to New Note Poetry, including on New Note Poetry's Protagonist account, available to subscribers at no cost in a format that is not downloadable.
  • Your work will be in an online-only magazine with no physical release unless otherwise noted.
  • Your author bio will be subject to our in-house style.


New Note Poetry